Valve closure for tubes



y 3, 1966 N. NEUNER 3,249,268

VALVE CLOSURE FOR TUBES Filed Jan. 21, 1965 4-? (i l, -30 I 48 I l 44- y 20 46 1e 40 28 INVENTOR FfgtZ Nikolaus NeufleP J ATTORNE s ,34 3 Claims. (Cl. 222-494) This invention relates to a valve closure for a tube and in particular to a tube which is collapsed when the contents are squeezed therefrom.

Steel-spring-loaded valve plates have been used for closing the opening in a tube container. In such constructions, the valve plate or head and the spring are formed of separate parts which have to be assembled, with an according increase in the manufacture cost. Also, tube caps which are opened and closed by being rotated through'an angle of about 90 have an ovalshaped valve head which is disadvantageous.

The object of this invention is to produce a simple valve closure for a tube container made of a one-piece construction and tightly lockable by a tube cap.

The means by which the objects of the invention are obtained are described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional view through the valve and tube cap; and

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

The tube container 10 has a neck 12 with exterior threads 14. The upper end 16 of the neck is down-- wardly convergent and forms a valve seat. The valve seat is ordinarily made circular but not necessarily so.

Extending through the neck 12 is a one-piece valve composed of any suitable resilient synthetic plastic material such as polyethylene. This valve has a head 20, a valve stem 22 and a spring preferably composed of spring arms 24. The free ends of the arms 24 abut against a shoulder 26 formed in the inner wall of the neck 12. The valve head has a conical seat portion 28, which in valve closed position is seated on valve seat 16, and an upright conical head portion 30.

When the contents of the tube container are squeezed, the pressure deforms the spring arms 24 from the position shown in dashed lines so that the arms are bent and the valve head 20 lifited from its seat 16. The contents United States Patent 3,249,268 Patented May 3, 1966 ice synthetic plastic, the flange 50 can be snapped into the groove. The bottom of the groove is downwardly inclined so that, when the cap is tightened, the end of the flange 50 will engage the bottom of the groove and form a tight seal. Also, the thread 14 and its corresponding thread on the cap have a pitch such that the cap wall 44 is disengage-able from the valve head when turned an angle less than 360.

The inner wall 54 of the neck 12 is downwardly divergent in order to facilitate the entrance of the valve stem 22 and spring arms 24 during the assembly of the parts.

The invention has the advantage in that the spring actuated valve is composed of one piece which is easily inserted in the tube neck. The cap not only serves to lock the valve head in position when the valve is closed, but also prevents the entry of any dirt or dust into the closed tube. The snap ring action of the flange 50 prevents the cap from being lost, as well as producing a seal between the cap and the tube neck.

Having now described the means by which the objects of this invention are obtained,

I claim:

1. In a closure for a collapsible container composed of a container neck having a circular edge around a neck opening and forming a valve seat, a single piece member having a valve head, a valve stem and spring arms mounted in said container neck with said valve head being seatable on said valve seat and with said spring arms extending across said tube neck to engage the inner wall of said neck for being deformable by pressure applied to the contents in the container and thus to lift the valve head from the valve seat, the improvement in which said valve head comprises an inverted conical valve seat portion and an upright conical head portion, said valve seat being of complemental conical shape for seating said inverted conical valve seat portion of said valve head, a cap threadedly engaged to said container neck and having a conically'shaped wall portion engageable with said upright conical head portion of said valve head of the tube container are thus extruded through the open valve and come out in the form of a hollow tube 34. Upon the release of the pressure on the tube container, the arms 24 by their spring action pull the valve head 20 down onto its seat.

A cap 40 is held on the neck by threads 14. This cap has a conical wall 44 on the interior of the outlet orifice portion 46 of the cap. When the cap is screwed down, this conical wall 44 bears on the corresponding conical wall of the valve head portion 30 and pulls the valve head tightly against the valve seat, thus providing a double seal. The outlet orifice portion has a cylindrical and a cylindrical wall portion extending from said conically shaped wall portion outwardly through the outlet orifice portion of said cap for forming a smooth hollow tube of the contents extruded from said container through said outlet orifice portion, and said valve head being normally closed by said spring arms and locked closed by the pressure of said cap on said upright conical head portion of said valve head.

2. In a closure as in claim 1, further comprising an annular groove around the periphery of said neck, a downwardly inclined bottom in said groove, and an annular flange on said cap forming a snap ring extending into said groove and engageable with said bot-tom when said cap is screwed down tightly on said neck.

3. In a closure as in claim 1, said inner wall of said neck being downwardly divergent for facilitating the entry of said single piece member during the assembly of said closure.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,105,118 1/1938 Henderson 222-496 2,609,975 9/1952 Senger 222-496 3,033,428 5/1962 Van Baarn s 222-549 3,134,514 5/1964 Booth 222-496 LOUIS I. DEMBO, Primary Examiner.

HADD S. LANE, Examiner. 

1. IN A CLOSURE FOR A COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER COMPOSED OF A CONTAINER NECK HAVING A CIRCULR, EDGE AROUND A NECK OPENING AND FORMING A VALVE SEAT, A SINGLE PIECE MEMBER HAVING A VALVE HEAD, A VALVE STEM AND SPRING ARMS MOUNTED IN SAID CONTAINER NECK WITH SAID VALVE HEAD BEING SEATABLE ON SAID VALVE SEAT AND WITH SAID SPRING ARMS EXTENDING ACROSS SAID TUBE NECK TO ENGAGE THE INNER WALL OF SAID NECK FOR BEING DEFORMABLE BY PRESSURE APPLIED TO THE CONTENTS IN THE CONTAINER AND THUS TO LIFT THE VALVE HEAD FROM THE VALVE SEAT, THE IMPROVEMENT IN WHICH SAID VALVE HEAD COMPRISES AN INVERTED CONICAL VALVE SEAT PORTION AND AN UPRIGHT CONICAL HEAD PORTION, SAID VALVE SEAT BEING OF COMPLEMENTAL CONICAL SHAPE FOR SEATING SAID INVERTED CONICAL VALVE SEAT PORTION OF SAID VALVE HEAD, A CAP THREADEDLY ENGAGED TO SAID CONTAINER NECK AND HAVING A CONICALLY SHAPED WALL PORTION ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID UPRIGHT CONICAL HEAD PORTION OF SAID VALVE HEAD AND A CYLINDRICAL WALL PORTION EXTENDING FROM SAID CONICALLY SHAPED WALL PORTION OUTWARDLY THROUGH AN OUTLET ORIFICE PORTION OF SAID CAP FOR FORMING A SMOOTH HOLLOW TUBE OF THE CONTENTS EXTRUDED FROM SAID CONTAINER THROUGH SAID OUTLET ORIFICE PORTION, AND SAID VALVE HEAD BEING NORMALLY CLOSED BY SAID SPRING ARMS AND LOCKED CLOSED BY THE PRESSURE OF SAID CAP ON SAID UPRIGHT CONICAL HEAD PORTION OF SAID VALVE HEAD. 